1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to ventilators, and particularly to a removable grease extraction cartridge for a kitchen exhaust ventilator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Kitchen exhaust ventilators have been built over many years in variour forms for removing smoke and grease polluted air from the cooking area of a kitchen. The removal of the air is accomplished in a fairly easy manner, but by exhausting the air that is saturated with grease a new problem is created. The grease deposits itself inside the ventilator, and thus causes many grease fires in restaurants and similar commercial establishments. Different manufacturers are employing various systems, generally employing a water wash, to minimize the fire danger. Examples of such ventilators can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,433,146 and 3,667,371, both issued to K. S. Russell on Mar. 18, 1969, and June 6, 1972, respectively. In particular, the known ventilating apparatuses disclosed in these two prior patents employ a removable filtering element in conjunction with a water wash system in order to collect the grease in the filter for subjection to the water wash.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,195, issued Nov. 12, 1968, to D. E. King, discloses a kichen exhaust hood having an arrangement similar to those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,433,146 and 3,667,371, inasmuch as a water wash is shown in combination with a drip-proof louver formed by a plurality of louvered sections removably arranged at the entrance to the hood.
It is also known to construct a kitchen exhaust ventilator wherein the air flow moves first downwardly through a first filter element and then upwardly toward exhaustion, while being washed by a water spray all the while. A difficulty encountered with this known ventilator, however, is that access to some interior parts of the device is almost impossible, and cleaning of the unit is rather tedious due to permanently installed filtering elements.